Virgin Atlantic

When coming to book our honeymoon I pushed for us to book Virgin Atlantic as I had fond memories of travelling with them as a child unfortunately my most recent experience has somewhat dashed this memory. I rarely write reviews and it is regrettable that I should have to write this one. Firstly I would like to say however that the airline crew were a delight unfortunately the food they were serving was not. I appreciate I have gone straight to the food however when you are on a long haul flight this is a significant factor in your journey. We travelled with Virgin twice whilst on our honeymoon and both times the menu did not match what we were served - once is a mistake twice is not goo enough. The 'starter' was bland and the 'main course' contained so much salt that I felt dehydrated after every bite. The snacks were far beyond creative. Whilst the entertainment was diverse I felt for the chap sat in front of me due to the weight I had to put behind my film selection causing his head seat to bounce back and forth. I could continue down this road but I think it is important to reach an early conclusion - I was disappointed with this journey. The years have not been kind to Virgin Atlantic.

Flew LHR to Chicago 2/6 then back from LA to LHR 19/6. Flights booked with Virgin because of very impressive Atlantic flight some years ago from which I never stopped praising Virgin for their excellent service I also paid extra to be able to fly Virgin this time however that is now out of the window completely and they will be way down the list of recommends now. The outbound flight was not pleasant with a seat that was about on par with the general charter 2 hour holiday flights probably the seat on the inbound did not seem so bad but still uncomfortable in comparison with what is generally available now days. There was generally a number of things that are not now acceptable eg main meal that was decidedly mediocre with rubbish box of claggy breakfast come tea a menu on outbound that had no relation at all to what was served with just a brief apology a cheap drinks regime of pouring from a large bottle but generally just substandard. The worst thing however was the entertainment screen for me and many other travellers I suspect this is one of the most important items as I do not sleep on aircraft's so I look forward to relaxing and watching films etc throughout the flight and I was disgusted that the screens on both flights were so dark that in many of the screens all you could see was a few flashing lights this was made worse when the person in front put the seat back and the screen could not be pulled out sufficiently to get the best view available in fact on the outbound flight it not only would not pull out sufficiently but as soon as you let go it sprang back into the seat. The selection of films was also rubbish with not much choice except that didn't matter in end as they were impossible to follow and on the outbound the films all started at set times and could not be paused or re-started. In general I would say that Virgin have paired down their service to a minimum which is now not anything like acceptable I have flown in several carriers in the last year and found eg Emirates Air New Zealand BA etc vastly superior. Both were safe and on time flights which is the main requirement of course and that could not be bettered.

09/05/2014 GLA-MCO-GLA (24/05/2014) - Flew this route in Upper Class. Could not fault the service from start to finish. Staff were very attentive and anything which we asked for/requested on the flight was not a problem. The onboard bar was fantastic as usual! The B747 was almost full as was the Upper cabin with all 14 seats being occupied. Even with the Upper cabin being full we were made to feel that we were the only people being looked after (we know everyone was also) but it's the attention to detail with things like the service which make such a difference. Contrary to what others have posted our aircraft was exceptionally clean and had a modern cabin. Already booked Upper for Grenada over new year!

During my flight I was very disappointed! I pre-ordered the food online (vegetarian option) but when it arrived it was cold pasta as a side snack and as a main meal it was hot pasta in tomato sauce. The menu gave to us was out of date and the air hostesses apologised for the wrong menu they gave out to us all. I know I am a vegetarian but it would be nice to have variation of food and not just pasta pasta and more pasta. Vegetarians eat other foods as well. During flight V93 to Mexico they gave us no wash bag (with toothbrush and toothpaste). We had this on the return flight but not going. On the return flight V94 the vegetarian lasagne was disgusting and the breakfast was just a hard cob roll with jam. We were given no butter or nice breakfast pastry as it said on the menu. Drink wise for the night flight there were no hot chocolate or nice crackers and cheese. I really feel the food has taken a turn for the worse and the food needs looking into especially the vegetarian options and breakfast meals.

I flew out of YVR to LHR two weeks ago. Being a nervous flyer I always hate flying and reading the recent reviews I was even more nervous to fly with Virgin! At the check-in desk however my worries began to be lessened. One of the Virgin Flight check-in staff listened as I told him I was nervous about flying and helped find my children and I a seat in the bulkhead. At the gate the staff allowed "people who need a little more time to board" on first and we settled easily into VS96 on that night a really modern looking plane. Couldn't fault it - it looked clean and colourful. The flight itself was smooth and even though the air stewards were not perhaps as proactive as on British Airways when I asked for help with getting a drink for the kids or something along those lines they helped straight away and without complaint. The only less than stellar thing was the kids' meal - which looked like the adult version of a meal but it was a late flight and the kids had already eaten so I didn't care too much about that and neither did they. No kids flight pack either - but to be honest that didn't bother me either - less junk to carry around post flight. When the plane landed 9 hours later at LHR my son had an epic meltdown. One of the Virgin Angels came out and asked if I needed a hand with my bags (I had one child under each arm and was kicking my bag along with my foot): I gladly took her up on her offer and she accompanied us all the way to customs bless her chatting all of the way. My experience with Virgin was absolutely terrific this time. Would definitely fly them again!

I had two different impressions of two flights with VA. The first flight was from London Heathrow to Los Angeles Premium Economy and it was great even though the seat I had wasn't the most convenient in term of its location. I didn't sleep and for the whole flight stewards were always there asking if I need something else offering drinks snacks ice creams. The second flight was back home from Los Angeles to London Heathrow Premium Economy and that was a totally different story. It all started from the delayed main meal. In the Economy they were already finishing their meal but ours wasn't even served. Then the meal was served eaten and we had our dirty dishes in front of us for like an eternity. Nobody seemed to care about collecting the dishes the stewards seemed to be hectically busy with something behind the closed curtains - but with what? At some point a lady in front of me decided to recline her chair and doing that she squeezed my dirty dishes so I had to call the stewards and request to remove them. Then we were waiting for a coffee - for more than an hour. I reminded about a coffee a couple of times but again the stewards were just too busy with something not related to serving the passengers. Then there was another lengthy period more than an hour of waiting for liquors. The light was already switched off and most passengers were asleep when at last some brandy was offered. And then the Premium Economy stewards simply disappeared and didn't show up until closer to the end of the flight. Nobody was offering drinks nobody was asking if passengers need anything there was simply no service in Premium Economy. On the way back from the toilet I met Economy stewards who were serving drinks they offered a drink to me. Were Premium Economy stewards on strike or something? I have no idea. My rates below will reflect my experience of the return flight. I will fly with VA again in July to San Francisco Premium Economy and I hope I will never meet again the team that I was unlucky to meet on my return from Los Angeles.

Flew recently Gatwick-Grenada-Gatwick. Flew out Premium returned Upper Class. Excellent flights excellent service every thing on time. V-Room at Gatwick excellent value. New lounge at Grenada very comfortable and plenty of attention from staff. We will be going back to Grenada and definitely flying VA. Looking through other reviews it would seem that most of the criticism centres around VA Heathrow/Manchester Long haul flights. We have regularly flown VA out of Gatwick and have never been dissatisfied. VA please note.

We flew flight VS 10 from JFK to London Heathrow mid March. We called the airline three times before traveling and waited on hold for 2 hours each time. The desk agent at JFK was extremely unpleasant and borderline rude. We had booked seats on the upper level of the plane one of the calls was to confirm that this was allowed with a child also traveling in the party. We were told to go to the desk at the gate prior to the flight to have her seat assigned with ours. The gate attendant gave us a glare and informed us that this was not allowed. After being spoken to condescendingly several more times we were eventually reassigned to our original seats. Once on board service was sub-par. Drinks (including water) were not offered for over 1.5 hours into the flight and we sat at the gate for an hour prior to taking off due to a "minor" problem with the fuel pump. When the man sitting in our aisle asked for a glass of water about 1 hour into the flight he was given a look and told that he would need to be patient as they are busy. I understand that they are busy but he was extremely polite when asking and a simple response with the same polite manner would have been more appropriate. Dinner was served with the drink cart trailing behind a drink was offered shortly after dinner arrived and then the drink cart was not seen again. The meal was standard economy fare the roll was frozen solid but the main meal was edible if not 90% rice. They came through to clear meal trays and offer hot chocolate or tea then the lights were turned off. They never came through to offer water during the flight which would have been nice (and was done on flights with another carrier). I could have hit my call light (as I had a sleeping toddler on my lap) but really didn't care to interact with the staff any more than absolutely necessary. The staff never smiled or looked even slightly pleasant. I was extremely disappointed in the service. They should be less concerned about their attractive uniforms and more concerned with providing standard pleasant service to all of their customers - including economy. We did arrive safely - which is their first priority - and I respect that.

I have flown this airline due to the fact that Delta Airlines now gives miles flown. I used to fly this airline over 10 years ago. I must say the service and standards have deteriorated considerably since then. The FA's don't seem friendly very perfunctory. It is a 16 hour flight (2 segments) from NYC-LHR LHR-JNB (South Africa). I got a coach class ticket but unlike KLM they don't upgrade you for the paltry 3 inch legroom for free for Platinum Medallion Members! KLM and others do. Wish South African Airlines was a partner. Then all the nickel and diming me cost for advance seating etc. Wont be using them anymore.

Virgin Red: EDI to LGW. Free inflight drink (bar) and snack (mini crisps) service. I asked for two drinks and was chastised by the cabin manager. Told they had to serve all passengers first. Considering I was the second last row to be served this made no sense. Obviously nothing ensued. They presumably hae a one drink per passenger policy but nobody would state this. Free hold luggage included in price. Only flew for the convenience of flight times. Don't think I could recommend however.